During a 40-year career Kosminsky has won seven BAFTAs. He is probably best-known for the Tudor period drama Wolf Hall but his filmography pulses with controversial, difficult pieces that shine a light into the heart of modern British life. The State told of young British Muslims drawn to jihad in Syria. The Promise traced Britain’s role in Palestine’s pain. The Government Inspector was a dramatisation of the death of nuclear weapons expert David Kelly.
If political leaders really care about the future funding of our public television they would do better to heed Kosminsky, a revered industry figure with a track record of pointing out threats to the proper resourcing of high-quality programming. He criticised ITV as “unfashionable” and “a sort of tragic television Faust”. The BBC had “forgotten what it’s for”, which was “to ask awkward questions, to rock the boat and make mischief”. There is even less chance of that, 14 years on, with the Beeb under the political screw.